HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-04-16, Page 16By Pastor John KuperusBlyth Christian ReformedChurchAbout two weeks ago, 289 people
were killed in Italy because of the
earthquake.
In March, there were 61,300 jobs
lost in Ontario.
I know a girl in Grade 10 and three
of her friends cut themselves as a
way of pain relief.
A story surfaces of a wife
complaining that her husband is
more interested in golf than her.
In our community a man is
missing and to date he has not been
found.
Tragedies surface every day and
the news makes us aware of these
things. Two thousand years ago
tragedy struck too. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, the Messiah, was
betrayed by one of his disciples, then
that disciple committed suicide.
Another one of his disciples denied
him three times and now was living
under the guilt of lies. All of the
disciples abandoned their friend.
If you have seen the movie, The
Passion of Christ, you have seen
Jesus’ court trial, the whipping
which took him almost to the point
of death, then the nailing to the
cross. An innocent man was killed
and the justice system failed.
How do we make sense of our
tragedies? Where do we turn when
tragedies strike in our lives? Where
is the hope in the midst of tragedies?
Some people look to their
community of faith in times of
tragedy. Others cope by seeking
professional help of a psychologist
or social workers. Some cope with
their tragedies by burying them and
simply going on. Some look to the
government to bail them out.
Mary Magdalene and another
Mary, two of Jesus’ friends, cope
with his death by lingering in
Jerusalem with friends. Jesus was
buried and two days later they are
still in Jerusalem. The grieving
process cannot be rushed and
sometimes lingering is the best thing
we can do.
These women were faithful to
Jesus while he was alive. Their
devotion to him has not changed. We
read “very early in the morning, the
women took the spices they had
prepared and went to the tomb”
(Luke 24: 1). They were fully
devoted followers of Jesus.
Mary and Mary have a job to do.
They are struggling to make sense of
the madness they experienced and
are grieving. Yet we notice they havelingered and remain fully devotedfollowers of Jesus by caring for hisbody two days after his death.
Death continues to be a tragedy we
all deal with, yet Easter connects us
with another world of resurrection or
new life. Easter is a message of
triumph over tragedy. It is a message
that God is stronger than Satan. It is
a message that truth is stronger than
the lie and love is stronger than hate
and life is stronger than death.
Mary and Mary come to the tomb.
“There was a violent earthquake, for
an angel of the Lord came down
from heaven and going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning,
and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him
that they shook and became like
dead men” (Matthew 28: 2-4).
God is watching and sends an
angel to open the tomb. I do not get
the impression that the tomb was
opened to let Jesus out. Jesus does
not appear to be stuck in the tomb
knocking to get out. Instead, the
stone is rolled away so that the
women can look in. God saw the
faithfulness of the women and
moves a stone so they can see.
God sees our faithfulness today
and continues to move stones. Every
time a baby is conceived and born is
a miracle. Then there are the stories
of situations that defy nature. A
person ought to die, butmiraculously lives. A person hascancer and the cancer disappears.Not only did the women have the
stone rolled away, but God sent a
messenger to them. “Do not be
afraid, for I know that you are
looking for Jesus, who was
crucified. He is not here; he has
risen, just as he said. Come and see
the place where he lay. Then go
quickly and tell his disciples, “He
was risen from the dead and is going
ahead of you into Galilee. There you
will see him. Now I have told you.”
(Mt. 28: 5-7).
Suppose Mary and Mary got stuck
in the tragedy and were not able to
experience the triumph. Suppose
that they did not show up at the
tomb. They would have missed the
angel and his message and the stone
being rolled away. That would have
been a second tragedy.
Could God use such tragedies for
something good? How far can we go
with verses like this one: “In
everything God works for the good
of those who love him” (Romans
8:28). Does “everything” include
tumours and tests and tempers and
terminators? The Bible would
answer yes. The Bible tells you that
God can turn away tragedy into a
triumph, if only you will wait and
watch.
Mary and Mary’s hearts and minds
were fixed on Jesus Christ. He was
their Lord and Saviour. They modelsomething for us that is veryimportant. Jesus Christ came toreverse the curse that came through
disobedience of Adam and Eve.
Thorns came into our world because
of sin and when Jesus was crucified
he had a crown of thorns on his head
that represented the briar patch of
humanity with all their guilt and
shame and fear because of sin. He
bore the thorns and reversed the
curse.
Some of you may be thinking that
you have no idea why you had to
experience the tragedy you did. You
may have to wait to ask God.
Easter is a message that God is not
held back by soldiers, seals or
stories. God marches on. We may
not understand the tapestry God is
weaving because we see the under
side, yet we can be assured that the
other side is beautiful.
Christ has risen! Christ as risen
indeed! We have hope in them midst
of tragedies.
In the midst of tragedies, God
wants you and me to be fully
devoted followers of him. He is
watching us and will meet us in
unexpected ways, because his Sonhas won the battle over death andresurrected back to life.Mary and Mary were not to sit on
the good news but were called to
share it with others. In the same way
God calls you and me to tell of the
wonders that God has done for
us.
PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009.From the Minister’s Study‘Tell of the wonders God has done for us’
308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
B l y t h C o m m u n ity Church of God
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
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N
D
I
A
N
A
“The Church
is not a building,
it is people
touching people
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
- Christian Education
for all ages
11:00 a.m. - Worship Service
Mid-week Bible Studies
See you
Sunday!
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, April 19
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact:
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, April 19
Ethel United Church
Worship Service - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224
Rev. Gary Clark
All Welcome
Sunday, April 19
Morning Worship Service
and Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women at the Well
No Youth Group Mar. 13 or 20
Evangelical Missionary Church
April 19: 1 John 1
Light & Life
-- or Lies?
PASTOR DAVID WOOD
119 John’s Ave.,Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School & Small Groups
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
Missions Fest Weekend
April 17-19
Friday: 8:00 p.m. - Article One in Concert
Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - Ladies Breakfast with
Leah Humphreys
6:30 p.m. – Men’s Chili Night with
John Stoll, Jim Carne and Pete Humphreys
Sunday: 10:30 a.m. – Morning Worship
with Pete Humphreys
7:30 p.m. – El Salvador Mission Teams
will be sharing
Everyone is Welcome!
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
519-523-9595
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
Parish of New Beginnings
April 19
Celebration of Holy Eucharist
Rev. Perry Chuipka
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00am
Evening Service 7:30pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9831
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service
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